Meet Laura, Founder and CEO of MiniWorks

A creative hive located in the Flatlands of Brooklyn, MiniWorks is the perfect space for collaboration and brainstorming. We spoke to founder and CEO, Laura Jean-Jacques, about how she took a mobile coworking group to a brick and mortar location.

What is the community at Miniworks like?

At MiniWorks, we are a community of fresh, free-flowing thinkers and doers. We value deep connections, open-mindedness, and high-productivity environments. You walk into the space ready to get to work, but also make friends with those on the same journey as you. It's invaluable.

What do you think draws so many people to Miniworks?

Conversation and connection happens naturally. Our space is warm, inviting, intimate, and intentionally small. The aesthetic makes you feel like you're in a small, cozy coffee shop in Italy. Our newest member Tara, described it as, "safe, warm, inviting...I feel like I belong here. Permanently." It feels good to know that others can really see this as a home and not another coworking space.

Can you talk a little more about how Miniworks started as a mobile coworking group?

When I refer to "mobile coworking group", I mean meeting at all sorts of places to work. I guess the kind of set-up Croissant currently offers it's members but without the dedicated coworking spaces available. Croissant wasn't in existence at the time (it would've been a prayer answered).

We started "mobilizing" because we were a creative group of individuals and friends working remotely on various business concepts but lacked motivation and inspiration to work towards accomplishing our goals. Whenever we would meet up for coffee, we naturally brought our laptops and worked. We worked really well together and held each other accountable by meeting almost daily.

The process of meeting at various places slowly became costly and tiring. We always wanted to work together, but you can only sit in coffee shops and cafes before that $7 cup of coffee runs out and the owner expects you to leave. It was also nerve racking whenever we'd be in a state of high-productivity and the space we were working out of had to close at 5 pm. Those days, we would either call it quits or work at about 3 different locations for the day. We slowly dismantled, but the coworking concept stuck with me. I craved that collaborative environment...connection...synergy...natural workflow. I decided to work on developing MiniWorks for two years. Now, it's finally here. I am near tears most days because I am just grateful for the opportunity to positively impact the life of another person simply on a mission to leave their mark on this world. I am here for all of it.

Now that you have a brick and mortar location, how do you see MiniWorks evolving?

Honestly, my vision for MiniWorks is so grand that I scare myself most of the time. That's how I know MiniWorks will change the world one day. My main mission is to create a platform that others can truly build themselves from. I want to give myself selflessly, and MiniWorks is the space to do it.

We will definitely be expanding in another sense of word very soon. Make sure to sign up for our newsletter for those exclusive details. Support is all we ask for.

Miniworks will host their opening event on August 13, 2017 from 5pm-11pm. It would be great if you could join! Space is limited so RSVP here.